Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 864: Grabbing Tickets
The ancestral worship ceremony officially ended around 2 p.m., when the banquet ended and people got up before dawn to go to Zhoujia'ao Village.

However, even after the ceremony and banquet ended, the people did not leave immediately.

In the newly built Zhou family mansion, Zhou Zhengdong and Zhao Wanru, holding their youngest son, toured the place accompanied by Jiao Tianyou.

Unlike the traditional courtyard houses in Beijing, the courtyards here are mostly just a main house and a courtyard. Even wealthy families generally have a typical three-sided courtyard layout, without a rear building. The main house is on the north side, and the side rooms are on the left and right sides.

The Zhou family's old residence is a traditional courtyard house with three courtyards.

After entering the courtyard gate, you will find a three-section house. The corridor between the main house and the side rooms leads to the back courtyard, forming a three-section structure.

The first courtyard was for receiving guests, the second courtyard was the activity area for the master of the house, and the last courtyard was the living quarters for the servants and maids. The kitchen, latrine, stables, and other facilities were also located here.

The earliest prototype of this type of house was the traditional Manchu courtyard house, which features "pocket-shaped rooms, kang (heated brick bed) with a swastika pattern, and chimneys sitting on the ground".

Northeast China is where the Qing Dynasty rose to power, so naturally there are many traditional Manchu buildings here. Later, these buildings influenced and merged with Han Chinese architecture, becoming the architectural style of many residences in Northeast China.

That's how it is here.

After looking around inside and out, Jiao Tianyou said softly, "This house was basically built on the foundation of the original old house. It was built and adjusted as it went. In my opinion, it is no different from the original old house. Even the cellars and the secret room in the study follow the original layout."

He paused again and sighed, "But it's not the old house after all. I can't quite put my finger on what specific details are wrong. I've been here a few times since it was built, but it never gives me that feeling of seeing the old house."

Zhou Zhengdong pursed his lips, looking from the front yard to the back yard. When he heard Jiao Tianyou's words, he pondered for two seconds before saying, "Things have changed. No matter how meticulously it is restored, it is not the original. It is normal that it feels wrong."

After saying this, he sighed, composed himself, and smiled at Jiao Tianyou, "To have achieved this much has far exceeded my expectations. I'm sorry to have troubled you, brother."

He might not care about the old house, but he couldn't ignore whether his deceased father had left any lasting memories. This old Zhou family house was the place his father had repeatedly talked about when he was alive.

Now that the old house and ancestral hall have been restored together, it can be considered as doing justice to my father's spirit in heaven.

Jiao Tianyou quickly waved his hand, "Please don't say such polite things, otherwise I will really have no face to go down and see my father and Master Zhou."

Zhou Zhengdong smiled wryly and said no more. He then changed the subject, saying, "I won't be coming here often in the future. I'll probably only come once every year or two. Even that would be considered frequent. This place..."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiao Tianyou smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. The leaders of the commune and the city have all instructed that the Zhou family's old house and ancestral hall are to be maintained by our Zhoujia'ao brigade. I will arrange for someone to take care of them, so you can put your mind at ease."

No matter when you come, I guarantee it will be clean and tidy, and you can sleep in it as soon as you lay out your bedding.

Zhou Zhengdong smiled and nodded, then took out a thick envelope, slapped it into his hand, and before he could refuse, said with a smile, "This is the money I'm giving to your brigade for cleaning and maintaining the houses and ancestral hall. I can't let you work for nothing."

Jiao Tianyou's face flushed red as he looked at the envelope in his hand. He wanted to refuse, but the envelope had been said to be for the government, so he could only mutter, "This is too much, this is too much..."

This huge stack must be worth at least two thousand yuan, right?
Zhou Zhengdong didn't say much, just patted him on the shoulder and turned to walk out.

Outside the gate, Chen Fan sat on the steps with a monkey on each leg, watching Zhou Yali and the other two take pictures with great interest.

The two raccoon dogs, Banjin and Balang, stared wide-eyed as they looked around. It was unclear what they were looking for, but they certainly resembled hardworking employees when the boss arrived.

Not far away, Sun Ruihe, Ye Yanshan and others were gathered together smoking. They wanted to go and chat with Chen Fan, but seeing that he was holding two monkeys in his arms, they couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

Is it inappropriate to approach and start a conversation at this time?
The main problem is that it's not dignified.

As for the Taoist priests, they had already taken off their robes and packed up their banners and other items, turning each into a large bundle, and then climbed into the truck bed to sit.

After everyone boarded the bus and the headcount was completed, Master Liu tightened his cotton-padded coat, hunched over, and walked up to Chen Fan, saying, "Junior brother, if there's nothing else, we'll head back now."

Chen Fan lifted the two monkeys onto his shoulders and stood up, saying, "No rush, just stay here for a couple of days, buy some souvenirs or something, and then I'll arrange a car to take you back."

Although I bought my train ticket for tonight a long time ago, I still have to say a few polite words, right?
Master Liu waved his hand, "We monks don't talk about these things. Besides, the ninth day is only a few days away. Everyone wants to go back as soon as possible to prepare for the opening of the temple."

Chen Fan exchanged a few polite words and then nodded, saying, "Okay, you guys go back first. I'll probably be going to the capital in the next day or two, and I'll come find you then."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Tell the others that this trip wasn't in vain. Besides the souvenirs, each Taoist temple also gave us 10,000 yuan as incense money..."

Upon hearing this, Master Liu was immediately startled. "Ten thousand per family? Isn't that too much?"

He thought that it would be good if a family could earn three to five thousand, but who would have thought that there would be ten thousand?

He couldn't help but be secretly surprised; it had to be an American capitalist—they were rich and incredibly generous.

Chen Fan laughed and said, "You've gone to so much trouble to travel all this way. What's ten thousand yuan?"

He then made a hand gesture and whispered, "My uncle said that Baiyun Temple is the location of the Taoist Association headquarters, so we need more, fifty thousand."

Since his junior brother had mentioned the Taoist Association, Master Liu no longer stood on ceremony. He immediately bowed and said solemnly, "On behalf of the Taoist community, I thank Layman Zhou."

Chen Fan escorted him to the truck, helped him into the vehicle, and watched the trucks drive away.

Turning around, he saw Zhou Zhengdong and his group coming out of the Zhou family's old house. Seeing him make a gesture, he turned around and called out, "Lili, Tiantian, let's go back."

Zhou Yali turned around, camera in hand, and wrinkled her nose. "Why didn't you call me?"

Jiang Tiantian took her arm and pushed her along, chuckling, "Let's go."

……

Once in the car, Zhou Zhengdong handed two property deeds to Chen Fan, saying, "Keep these."

Chen Fan took the deed and looked at it, then frowned slightly. "Why are you giving me the deeds to the Zhou family's ancestral home and the Zhou clan's ancestral hall?"

Zhou Zhengdong raised his chin and said, "Otherwise what? Should I take it back to the US? What if something happens and we have to have it sent from the US?" Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly, "Fine, I'll keep it. I'll keep it at my home in Beijing later, it'll be convenient when I need it."

He folded up the property deed and put it away carefully, then patted his chest and laughed, "You're someone who owns properties all over the country now, huh?"

He held more than just these two property deeds; he also held the deeds for two villas in Shanghai and the Ningjun Prince's Mansion in Beijing. Zhou Zhengdong's reason was the same: the emperor was far away, and it was inconvenient to handle things there, so he asked Zhou Zhengdong to manage them on his behalf.

Including his own houses, he would at least be a "property tycoon" in later generations.

Unfortunately, Zhou Zhengdong didn't get the joke about the house in later generations. He raised his chin slightly, hummed twice, and said bluntly without caring about the driver in front of him, "I had thought before about whether to hand over the restored Zhou family old house and Zhou ancestral hall to the public. Otherwise, they would just be sitting idle, so it would be better to benefit the local villagers."

Anyway, as long as these two houses and the Zhou family ancestral graves behind them exist, our branch of the Zhou family has roots, and your maternal grandfather's spirit in heaven can rest in peace.

But after thinking about it again, I still felt uneasy. Even if Brother Jiao is watching over them now and ensuring the two houses aren't misused, who knows what the next generation will be like after Brother Jiao passes away?
It's better to keep the property rights in my own hands. At worst, I can pay someone to maintain it every year, and it won't end up being a mess someday, making me angry just looking at it."

Chen Fan didn't care about the driver or the people behind him, and nodded, saying, "Just keep it yourself, don't ask for favors. Besides, this is the Zhou family's ancestral land, how can we hand it over to someone else?"

Then, changing the subject, he said, "Besides, the country is now shifting its development focus to economic construction, and the Northeast is the most important industrial center in the country, with Shenyang being the core of the core. They don't need these two houses."

"When Zhoujia'ao develops in the future, and every household has two-story houses with electricity and telephones, they might even find our two ancestral homes an eyesore, affecting the overall appearance."

Upon hearing this, the driver, who had been expressionless just moments before, suddenly started twitching like he had epilepsy. His lips trembled uncontrollably, and he eventually gave up, grinning and revealing his eight front teeth.

Zhou Zhengdong in the back row also laughed heartily, "If that day really comes, I'm willing to make way for the village's development. As long as the ancestral graves are not touched, the ancestral home and ancestral hall can be rebuilt on a different site. I guarantee that I won't cause any trouble for the government."

As they chatted and laughed on their way to the city, countless people were crowding the entrance to the movie theater, resembling a relentless assault on a fortress during wartime.

Shenyang has many cinemas, including Asia, Northeast, Guanglu, People's, Masses, Nationalities, Liqun, Guangming, Mingxing, Tianguang, Nanhu, Shengli, Hongxing, Dadong, Jiefang, Shanshan, Tiexi, Heping, Wanquan, Xinwen, Wenyi, Huanggu... there are dozens of them.

This only includes regular cinemas and theaters, not other places where movies can be shown, such as "clubs".

With so many cinemas, Shenyang is probably one of the cities with the most cinemas among all major cities in China during this era.

Not far from the Liaoning Hotel, at the southeast corner of the intersection of Xingshun Street and Nanjiuma Road in Tiexi District, there is a movie theater called Hongguang Cinema. Locals usually call it "Jiulu Hongguang" or "Hongguang Cinema".

This place was built before liberation and was called "Citizens' Meeting Place". In 53, it was renovated at the same time as the famous "Peace Cinema" in Shenyang. However, when the Hongguang Cinema was being built, the Shenyang Foundry Club was also being built. The two buildings used the same blueprint, so they look exactly the same.

Tiexi District is an old industrial area in Shenyang, with countless factories and dormitories, so the flow of people is naturally extraordinary.

Even though many factories have built their own "clubs," which are places where people can watch plays, show movies, and hold dances, they still cannot meet the daily entertainment needs of ordinary people.

Therefore, the Hongguang Cinema, along with the Heping Cinema and the Tiexi Cinema, became the most popular place in old Tiexi, and were known as the "Three Musketeers" at the time.

People who work for the "Three Musketeers" are considered "superior" because they have seen more of the world and can watch movies frequently.

Even Lu Tiemei, a ticket seller who has seen it all, has been overwhelmed these past few days.

Looking at the young man who was practically squeezing half his body into the room, she said wearily, "No more tickets, really no more tickets. Not to mention today's tickets, even the tickets for the next week are all sold out."

Carrying the hopes of his entire class, Lei Zelin had finally overcome countless difficulties and successfully seized the "high ground." How could he give up so easily? He kicked his leg hard and shouted back, "Don't pull my pants!"

Then he leaned against the window, looking at the ticket seller with a sincere expression, "Sister, you're like my own sister, please help me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lü Tiemei interrupted him, saying, "These past two days, there have been at least a thousand or eight hundred people calling me 'sister,' and countless others calling me 'aunt' or 'mother.' Young comrade, even if you call me 'grandma' or 'ancestor,' it won't work. No tickets means no tickets, and I can't conjure them up for you. Why don't you go to another movie theater?"

This is unbelievable! Is that movie, "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," really that good?
My nephew took his girlfriend to see more than a dozen movies, it wasn't just that; they practically lived in the movie theater.

She had been working in the cinema since 53, and this was the first time she had ever encountered such a scene.

Half a month ago, before even the Lunar New Year's Eve, the posters for "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," which was scheduled to be released on the first day of the Lunar New Year, were already up, giving it a few more days of promotional time than other movies.

At first, it was fine. Although the director was the well-known writer Chen Fan, as the saying goes, "a trade is like a mountain." If it weren't for the theater manager's insistence on overcoming all objections, a film made by a newcomer like him would only be shown in the late night or early morning, and wouldn't even get a second glance. How could it possibly occupy the "prime time" slots of 8 pm and 8 pm?
Moreover, the actors in this movie are all newcomers. Although they have thick eyebrows and big eyes and look quite good, they have no fame.

Not to mention big stars like Ye Linlang, He Xiaoshu, and Yang Hailian, or newcomers like Liu Xiaoqing and Chen Chong, there isn't even anyone who's even remotely familiar.

Even though Chen Fan had previously directed a very popular film called "Little Lotus Just Beginning to Show Its Tips," many veteran film fans felt that it was only passable and still fell short of the standards of a great director.

Then look at the name of this movie, it's called "Monk Comes Down the Mountain". Just from the name, it's a story about breaking feudal superstition. Such stories have been overdone for a long time, who would still watch it?
According to Lü Tiemei, it would be quite good if the film could achieve an 80% attendance rate.

This is because there are too few forms of entertainment available now. For many young people, besides attending "dance parties," watching movies is their most common form of entertainment; otherwise, the attendance rate might not even reach 80%.

The facts were just as she expected.

After tickets went on sale, although many people bought them, there were still quite a few tickets left for each show, which was nothing compared to the performances of renowned directors like Xie Jin, Cheng Yin, Cui Wei, and Xie Tieli.

But right after the first movie ended, things suddenly changed.

Many audience members who had just left the cinema completely ignored questions about whether the movie was good or not, and went straight to the ticket counter, loudly demanding to buy tickets for the next showing, specifically "Monk Comes Down the Mountain".

Their actions were like a spark, drifting aimlessly into a pile of poplar fluff, instantly igniting a raging fire.

For any screening of "Monk Comes Down the Mountain," even a midnight screening added at the last minute, the tickets are sold out as soon as they are released.

It was truly a matter of "grabbing"; you couldn't buy a ticket unless you got to the front of the line.

Outside the ticket window, regardless of wind or snow, there is always a crowd of people, all with the same goal: tickets to the movie "Monk Comes Down the Mountain"!
Lu Tiemei scratched her head, looking at the young man who was gesturing wildly and kowtowing, and the countless people waiting anxiously outside the window. She wondered if she should ask someone to switch shifts so she could go in and take a look herself.

(End of this chapter)